Field
The present disclosure relates generally to dental restorations, in particular, to the use of a CAD/CAM system to produce a dental prosthesis.
Background
Restoring or repairing one or more of a patient's teeth often involves the preparation and attachment of a dental prosthesis, such as a denture. Dentures are constructed to replace missing teeth and are supported by the surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Dentures are generally removable and can comprise either partial or complete dentures. Partial dentures are prepared for patients who are missing some of their teeth on a particular arch (i.e., the maxillary (upper) or mandibular (lower) arch), while complete dentures are prepared for patients who are missing all of their teeth in a single arch or in both arches (i.e., a toothless patient).
Preparation of a dental prosthesis, such as a denture, is preceded by making an impression of the dental patient's oral cavity in the area of the restoration site. This impression should accurately reflect the physical features of the dental patient's oral cavity. An accurate impression can yield a well-fitting dental prosthesis that is secure and comfortable in the patient's mouth, and that is long-lasting and aesthetically pleasing. An ill-fitting dental prosthesis, on the other hand, can increase the patient's risk of infection or disease, and cause shifting in the prepared prosthesis.
Obtaining a well-fitting dental prosthesis, such as a denture, is not an insignificant task. For example, during casting and curing of a final denture, errors, such as transference errors, can occur when transferring the features of the patient's oral cavity and/or the accurate positioning of denture teeth to the final cast denture. Such transference errors occur due to the imprecision of the production process. Accordingly, several iterations of test fitting (e.g., check biting) the denture with the patient and thereafter, adapting of the denture via various finishing steps by a technician may be required to create a well-fitting prosthesis. In addition, a final cast denture may result in bubbles within the casting that reduce the aesthetics and the stability of the final dental prosthesis. Moreover, in certain situations, an entirely new dental prosthesis may be required to be recast in the case of an ill-fitting prosthesis that cannot be readily adapted for the patient's mouth by the dentist and/or technician.